The Queen of Freljord
by Asona35
Summary: The war has descended upon Freljord and like always, Demacia is there to bring back order. But maybe there is more to the throne of the wintry lands than meets the eye. Demacia has sided with the Avarossan, but Quinn? Quinn is not so sure. Quinn x Sejuani and some Shyvana x Fiora. Rated M for later chapters wink wink.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

The tavern rang with the joyful sound of music and laughter. I sat drinking what was probably the cheapest tasting beer with Shyvana, occasionally passing a few crackers to an impatient Valor. We busied ourselves with a useless talk of a war against Noxus, building an imaginary utopia where there was no such thing, chuckling at the mere absurdity that it implied. Fiora had promised to join us, but was either running late or refusing to turn up. To be fair, she was probably still shining her blade and arranging her hair since dawn. Not a rude comment, she's been my friend for a long time, though not as long as Shyv.

The noise around me seemed to make the world spin, or maybe it was due to the alcohol. Either way, when Garen had burst into the building yelling, I nearly fell off my chair.

"All soldiers are called to come forward. Jarvan wants to speak to all of us." His voice echoed.

The laughter stopped and was replaced by anxious mutter. Shyvana and I didn't waste time and headed out, finding Fiora on the way to the barracks. To our surprise, she was less clueless than we were.

"I heard that we're leaving in a few weeks. Some say Noxus, others say Piltover. I don't know anymore." She filled us in on what she knew.

"Been a while since I've felt someone's bones crack beneath me." Shyvana replied chuckling.

Valor and I shifted uneasily as we reached a mass of men and women crowding around the barracks. Over the countless heads I could just make out the silhouette of Jarvan, standing proud and tall as ever. He cleared his throat.

"When war settles amongst friendly lands, Demacia never hesitates to send forth her troops. You must understand that I am making the best decisions when it comes to what comes and goes, and at this moment in time, I'm afraid that _we_ must go. For are we not brave soldiers? Are we not true Demacians?" There was a pause in his dramatic speech. "Of course we are! And where there is unjust bloodshed there is our force to set it right!"

"Justice!"

"For Demacia!"

People cheered amongst the crowd.

"That's right!" He continued. "Gather your things, brandish your weapons! In two weeks time we are leaving. In two weeks we are heading..." There was no intentional pause but the sound of breathing stopped for that split second. "Freljord."

Questions and doubts ran amongst the crowd. People muttered concerns.

"I know it's not what we do, for what right has Demacia got to brave the blizzards? But where we are needed, we go. A terrible war is about to break out. If we leave in two weeks time, we'll get there to stop it." He finished with his overly dramatic punch line, "For Demacia!"

And as if rehearsed, people chanted it back.

"What's the matter, Quinn? Fed up of the prince?" Shyv asked.

I sighed. "No need for these speeches. And Freljord? Really?"

"You're not scared of a little snow, are you?" Fiora replied, making it sound like a challenge.

"No, it's just... I have a bad feeling about this."

Valor squawked in approval.

"You're paranoid. Hey, maybe we'll have some fun, building a snowman or something."

"Yes, Shyv. A snowman in the middle of the battlefield, maybe it'll confuse the enemy." I replied chuckling.

"Can't know till you try. I want a pet poro."

"You'd burn it."

"Would not! I can be careful too you know."

"Like that time you burnt my best leather gloves?" Fiora butted in.

"No, cuz that wasn't an accident." she replied, a smirk spreading across her lips.

We laughed it off and headed back into the tavern. The friendly atmosphere seemed to be back, as if nobody had heard what Jarvan said. Nobody was leaving for Freljord, nobody was going to battle. Nobody would die. They all laughed and drank and drowned out the world amongst a pool of incoherent chatter.

Who amongst them questioned what we were fighting for?

At the end of the day, I headed home with Valor, parting with Shyvana and Fiora. The morning would bring new spirits to us all.

* * *

When Quinn left I was about to head back to the living quarters up in the barracks, but Fiora suggested that we take a walk beforehand. I needed to clear my head too so I didn't refuse.

There was a long but comfortable silence as we walked and I felt at peace. The night made the city look more beautiful, hiding its scars and imperfections, making it seem like an ideal utopia to these humans living in it. For some strange reason, I missed living in the wilds. I missed my father, teaching me how to hunt, how to kill. How to be a dragon.

"Are you excited for the departure?" Fiora broke my train of thought, though I didn't mind.

"Not so much excited. More like too tired to care at the moment."

The cool night air descended upon us and I saw her shiver. Before I could reason with my actions, I placed an arm over her shoulders in an attempt to keep her warm.

"Better?" I asked.

She nodded and I could just make out her smile in the darkness.

Above us, a million stars twinkled brightly, wishing us goodnight. Before long, we reached the barracks and had to part ways. She headed towards her home while I walked into the unwelcoming building, up towards the living quarters.

* * *

It was never the morning light that woke me - it was always the annoying squawking of a bird that couldn't shut its beak. It was always _Quinn, I'm hungry_ or _Quinn I'm bored, Quinn I want a treat, QUINNNN._ So, tiredly, I always started my days with a hint of annoyance, which luckily faded throughout the day.

" _You love me really."_ he would say, and I couldn't help but cave in.

Like I do every morning I got my equipment ready and headed for the woods for some shooting practice. I prefered the cool, clean air of the forest more than the barracks as I felt more at home and found that I could concentrate better. Plus, Valor had no room to fly indoors.

I headed to my usual spot - a small clearing in the heart of the trees where I had set up a few targets a couple of months back, pleased to find that no animal had bothered to take them down just yet. I shot my arrows swiftly, hearing constant criticism from a certain winged instructor, who, despite my shots being perfectly centered, would always poke holes at my technique. Much like Caleb.

Maybe the reason why I enjoy the woods so much is because they remind me of him. Endless memories of young children messing around with sticks and dreaming of Demacian soldiers could flash before my eyes, but I try to keep them away. All they do is remind me of a dream that he could never fulfil.

I paused firing as a wave of emotion overcame me. It was as if his image had made its way back into my mind. A small smile spread across my lips as I heard Valor squawking, and I was suddenly rooted back to reality.

"Why are you so much like him?" I muttered under my breath and resumed my training.

However, Valor squawked again, this time drawing my attention.

 _"Quinn! Look!"_ he said.

I looked up towards the sky and spotted a hawk flying towards us, its wing beats tired and uneven. It cried out as it descended towards the ground and lost control against the wind. I caught it before it hit the ground, noticing the slight cut across it's chest and the frost covered feathers.

Attached to its feet was a note. I thought little of it until after I had ripped part of my sleeve in order to patch up the bird's wound and laying it gently on the ground to rest.

The note was addressed to Jarvan, and it seemed urgent.

* * *

 _ **Note: I do jump about with my POVs.** _

_Wat iz dis wat iz dis? Am I seriously writing more fanfiction? AFTER YEARS OF BEING DEAD?  
ASDFFHKJLL  
Quinn x Sejuani soon... ever so soon... **soooooon.** Plz stick around (it will get exciting I promise) _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

* * *

I ran back into the city and took the wounded bird with me. While trying hard not to knock everyone in my way over, I nearly bumped into Shyvana and Fiora, who stopped me worriedly.

"What's going on?"

"This note..." I panted. "Gotta get it to... Jarvan." I held out the poor hawk. "Just take care of it, I'll be back."

And with that I speeded off again, heading towards the palace with Valor following closely behind, saying that I run like a goose. Even in grave moments, he always knows what to say.

At the pearly gates of the so-called heavenly palace I was greeted by a couple of guards who refused to let me in. I told them about the note, I told them that I'm a soldier, but they only had pea sized brains so it's not really their fault. Instead, I had to find another way in.

Luckily, I wasn't always a respected member of the community and had a fair share of mischief bottled up from when I was younger. This wouldn't be the first time I snuck into a building.

What not many people know is that every palace has a hidden back door - an emergency exit if you like, in case it gets attacked and the supreme and ever so valuable prince needs a quick escape route. Caleb and I snuck inside when we were kids, and the palace hadn't changed much over the years.

I found the small and poorly locked door behind a small bush of prickly thorns and was able to kick it open, hearing the hinges roar as they were rarely put into use. I walked down the dark and narrow hallway that followed, before opening another door that led into the grand hall of the palace. Here, a few peasents and chefs ran errands here and there, but by sticking to the shadows I climbed the stairs up to the throne room.

I was met by another two guards and realized that I hadn't thought my plan through. They hadn't seen my yet but when they did, they'd kick me out for sure. If only I had a way of getting into the throne room...

My prayers were answered as the grand doors opened, and a wild Jarvan appeared. He was followed by his faithful boyfriend, oops I mean companion, Garen and a little scholar that rambled on about some shit. He was headed in my direction so I used this chance to jump out the shadows and surprise him, almost giving the guards a heart attack as they jumped to their senpai's side.

Before they had time to yell at me I shoved the paper into Jarvan's hands.

"Just read it! A hawk tried to get to us earlier but it was injured. It had this from Ashe."

The guards were about to grab me and haul me away but Jarvan motioned for them to stop as he started reading. His expression changed suddenly and he turned to Garen.

"The Winter's Claw have attacked them already. War has started much sooner and they want to retaliate as soon as their troops are ready, whether we're there or not."

"Sir, we can't let a war rage..."

"I know, Godammit!" he yelled. "Order our soldiers to prepare to leave tonight."

"But sir, there's not enough time..."

"Tonight!" his voice bellowed before turning to face me. "Thank you. Now run along and prepare, soldier."

I didn't salute him as I was supposed to and instead dashed away. The guards were giving me evils anyway.

On my way back home to gather my things I ran into my two friends again.

"Quinn, look!" Shyvana was holding the hawk, whose wound had been taken care of better than I did. "I took care of it, I proved that I can be careful with things!"

I caught sight of Fiora rolling her eyes, but couldn't help chuckling at Shyv's adorable outburst.

"Don't celebrate for long." I told them. "We're leaving for Freljord tonight."

"What?!" Fiora exclaimed. "But I have no time to pack my essentials!"

"You literally only need your weapons. What is there to pack?" Shyv said.

"Well I wouldn't expect you to know, but I need my beauty products." She replied, not looking at all offended when we laughed at her.

With all the preparations in place, we were soon ready to leave that evening. The Demacian army had wasted no time. It was now or never, so we set off, bound to arrive at the Avarossan in just over a day or two if we hurried enough. Hopefully we wouldn't be too late.

* * *

 **Note**

 _Ahhh! This chapter's so short and I'm so sorry! But you stick around you'll get to the gud bitz.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

* * *

People were tired. Feet were dragged across the ground almost uselessly as the night descended. There was a heavy sound of uneven breathing as our power came to an end. If we didn't rest soon, we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves if attacked, despite there being hundreds of Demacians. Jarvan didn't seem to acknowledge that as he carried on leading, occasionally saying something encouraging. He was determined to stop this war, just so he wouldn't look bad as Demacia's leader.

Valor was circling overhead, his endless squawking becoming background noise in my tired state.

" _Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"_ he went on and on and on.

"You're a baby, Valor. Just like a baby." I said back to him but he pretended to not hear me.

"Shyvana why can't you just turn into a dragon and fly us all to Freljord?" Fiora asked.

"And what? Carry a hundred idiots on my back? No thanks."

"Cheer up, Shyv, you'll get a pet poro, remember?" I told her.

"Which she'll burn."

"Stop calling me hot, Fiora." She replied straight faced, and I chuckled as Fiora blushed.

As the night dragged on, Jarvan must have become aware of our exhaustion and ordered us to stop and set up a small camp for the rest of the night. Each tent housed a small number of soldiers and I chuckled upon seeing Jarvan and Garen sharing one. I ship them so much.

After a few agonising minutes of trying to figure out how a tent works, Fiora, Shyv and I finally got ours up and fell asleep almost immediately, dreading the harsh cold that we'd have to wake up to, or worse - Jarvan.

Despite really needing sleep however, I woke up some time before dawn as Valor pecked my face. I was about to shoo him away, but then saw the grave look on his face. He didn't make any noise, so I followed him silently outside.

Everyone was sleeping, even the two idiots that were supposed to be up as guards, but somewhere in the distance, something moved behind a snow covered bush. I didn't think it would be a threat, so I approached it slowly, careful not to wake anyone. It seemed like it was just a wolf or something, but for some reason I wanted to check it out.

As I neared, it darted away from the bush and disappeared into the forest. Whatever it was, it seemed like a big animal, as I only caught a glimpse of its thick fur. I had never seen such a creature before so I went after it, following Valor as he guided me towards it deeper into the forest. Soon though, as we neared it, he called out for me to stop, his squawking urgent and frantic.

 _"Go back! He's not an animal!"_

Before I could react, something hit my left arm and sent me tumbling onto the ground. An axe lay deep within my shoulder, and above me towered two men with full beards. As my vision blurred, I caught a glimpse of the deceiving bear head that one of them wore.

* * *

"Fiora, wake up!" I shook her gently by the shoulders, despite the fact that I was panicking.

She let out a groan as she unwillingly looked up at me. "What..."

"Quinn's gone! I can't find her."

"Calm yourself, maybe she went for a walk or something... she's crazy like that."

"But Valor isn't here either!"

"He'd be with Quinn."

" _And where is Quinn?!"_

"On a walk!"

We breathed deeply for a moment to calm down. I didn't think Quinn would leave without telling us, even if it was just for a stupid walk.

"Why wouldn't she tell us?" I asked.

"Because she's a good person who doesn't wake Fiora up!" she replied and turned her back on me.

I sighed. "Fiora! This could be bad!"

She paused for a moment before replying. "But what if it isn't? If she doesn't show up for breakfast we'll announce the others. There's no reason why she would have gone missing, Shyv. Out of all people? Just her?"

"You're right. I'm just paranoid. She'll be back soon."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

"But what if she's not ok?"

"Then we'll go look for her. She knows better than to wander off on her own though. She won't get hurt." She replied.

I gave in and sat back down, waiting for Garen to wake us all up. I couldn't go back to sleep, and neither could Fiora. No matter how much she denied it, we were both worried.

"Fiora?" I whispered finally.

"Oui?" she muttered.

"What if Freljord plunges into a civil war? What if we're stuck in the middle of it?"

"You're not seriously afraid, are you?"

"No, but... Just how many people would be left amongst the tribes? What is a kingdom good for if its people are dead?"

She shrugged. "I'm not the one giving orders."

"And if you were?"

She didn't answer. "Just go back to sleep."

Humans were weird but I was glad to be friends with a couple of them. Slowly, I put an arm around Fiora's tired figure. She didn't complain. Instead, she let out a small sigh and brought herself slightly closer to me.

Humans were indeed weird, but I liked it.

* * *

"Who?"

"A Demacian. Just a soldier."

"Is she alive?"

"Injured, but alive."

"Patch her up."

"But..."

"I said patch her up. Clean the wound, bandage it."

"But why..."

"Did you not hear me?!"

The voices that surrounded me were unknown. I couldn't move and saw nothing but darkness. Suddenly, someone hauled me up so I sat with my back resting against what I thought must have been the wall. A damp cloth was applied to my shoulder and the sudden wave of pain woke me as I let out a cry.

Awakened, I could finally open my eyes. The sudden light made me feel dizzy and I nearly fell onto my side, but was caught by someone. They steadied me again so my back was against the wall once more. As the world came into focus, I was met by a pair of icy blue eyes. She held a cloth in one hand and was cleaning my wound, making me wince again at the pain.

She muttered something along the lines of "weakling" under her breath as she proceeded, before wrapping my shoulder up in some bandages.

"Valor... Where's Valor...?" I asked, my voice uneven due to my dry throat.

She looked baffled for a moment, before realization struck her. "The bird?"

I nodded slightly.

"Is he important?"

I nodded again, praying that he wasn't hurt.

"Brilliant." She answered. "You'll get him once you give us information."

I mentally cursed myself. I had no idea what she was after, and all I could think about was Valor.

As she finished patching up my shoulder she hauled me up again and sat me at a table. She sat across from me, next to two other men which looked familiar. It was axe guy and bear guy.

"Why are your people coming here?" She asked suddenly, her voice harsh as it seemed to bellow throughout the room.

I didn't know what to do. I shouldn't tell our plans to strangers, but my thoughts kept going back to Valor. Had they hurt him? Would they hurt him? In a moment of panic I blurted out all I knew.

"They... We're here to stop the war in Freljord. We were heading to the Avarossan."

"Why are you helping them?" Her voice rang once more, this time filled with more anger.

I nearly flinched, but replied quickly. "Because the Winter's Claw attacked them and they were going to retaliate. We're not directly helping them, we just want to stop the war."

Silence.

The woman looked at the two men confused. She turned back to me.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" her voice sounded more like a threat than a question, so I was hesitant to answer.

Eventually, I shook my head.

They chuckled - a small laugh which was not as amused as it was angered.

"I'm Sejuani. Leader of the Winter's Claw. Now tell me again... Why are you helping the Avarossan?"

I gulped. I looked into her cold eyes and I was almost frozen to my seat. My voice trembled slightly as I spoke, out of fear that they'll get angrier if I remained quiet.

"They told us that the Winter's Claw... your tribe... attacked them and..."

She turned to the bear guy. "You were right, Udyr. I'm sorry I doubted you."

He shook his head, dismissing the apology. "It doesn't matter anymore. What do we do now?"

She lowered her gaze as she thought and for the first time, I managed to get a proper look at her. She had short light blond hair that fell near her strong jawline. She wore heavy armour and thick furs, making me think that she wasn't half as cold as I was.

"More importantly at the moment," the axe guy broke the silence, "what do we do with her?" He gestured towards me. "Aren't the Demacians gonna look for her?"

"Perhaps." Answered Sejuani. "But she might be useful. And Udyr..."she turned back to him, "we attack as soon as we're ready. I won't have Ashe bullshitting anymore. Tell the others."

"Certainly." He replied and left the room.

"Where's Valor?" I demanded once more.

"Olaf, bring her the bird."

"But I thought I could keep him."

"Just bring her the damned bird."

He sighed and left as well, leaving me alone with the leader.

"You can't attack the Avarossan again." I said suddenly, unsure of where my courage had come from. "There'd be war all across Freljord then."

"Isn't there already? And it's not _again._ I never attacked them in the first place."

"But... Ashe sent a letter, she said..."

"Bullshit. On my honor I wouldn't attack without first declaring war. It's cowardly."

"Well then who would?"

"There's not just two tribes you know."

There was indeed a third. Something made me trust the leader's side of the story. I don't know why but she was suddenly not as scary as I thought she was.

"But if you attack, Demacia would already be there. You wouldn't stand a chance against two forces."

Her eyes locked with mine once more and a chill ran down my spine. "You still don't know who you're talking to."

The door opened and a gust of wind blew in. The axe guy walked in holding Valor whose wings and feet were tied. He was squawking angrily until he was in my arms, having his binds removed.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

 _This chapter is so tacky I could die. BUT on the bright side we got Her Majesty Sejuani in finally.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

* * *

"We're not leaving until we find her!" Fiora's voice was at its usual sassy peak.

Jarvan seemed uneasy and hesitated before he answered. "We have no time. If we don't stop this in time..."

"You're not going to look good as a leader anymore, are you?" She replied, challenging him. "That's all there is to it. The reason you wanted to go into Freljord so badly is so that people can see how strong and just Demacia's prince is. Well what sort of prince leaves his people behind?!" She was almost shouting by the time she finished.

Jarvan took a deep breath. "I'm warning you, soldier, don't question me again. You are to follow my orders. Understood?"

Fiora didn't answer. I was ready to kick that wimp in the balls if she hadn't dragged me away in time.

Quinn hadn't turned up still and we were already on the move. Something must have gone awfully wrong for Quinn to be gone this long, and I knew that Fiora was thinking the same thing.

We lagged behind the others slightly to hold a conversation in private.

"Shyv, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That Jarvan's a shithead?"

"Besides that."

"That he's still got Garen's dick up his ass?"

"No! Not about Jarvan!" She grunted in frustration. "Quinn, you fuckett! We gotta go after her."

"Wha- So like - now? - like - jus-like-leave?" She raised her eyebrows at me as I stuttered.

"Scared?" she asked.

"I'm a dragon. There's practically _nothing_ to be scared of. I'm up for it let's go."

We lagged behind even more, before deciding in which direction to head in. We legged it when no one was looking, and - surprise surprise - Jarvan didn't notice, or probably didn't even care.

We headed back to where we camped, hoping to start our search from there.

"There was a minor problem with your plan, Fiora." I say to her as we reach the spot, marked by the scars left by the fire and the tents. "Quinn could be anywhere by now. How the hell are we going to-"

"Why don't you make yourself useful? Fly up and see if you can spot anything."

"Fly up?- Oh! Got ya."

Shortly, I sprinted forwards and felt my bones crack as they transformed. My skin seemed to split to make way for rough, sharp scales and my jaw ached at the sudden growth. I let out a roar and soared towards the skies, not able to feel my arms anymore as they turned into wings.

I didn't enjoy the cold too much, but Freljord surely was beautiful. There was a glistening white coat embracing everything, even the mountains. High above the ground, the wind was harsher and stronger. It chilled my bones and stiffened my muscles and I suddenly found it hard to keep moving. I looked around quickly. I scanned everything I saw. The white blanket made it easy for me to spot the patch of colour, even from a distance.

I descended hastily and transformed back. Lying forgotten in the snow was a patch of blue and splatters of red. They were half covered by ice, but as I picked up the blue I knew exactly what I was holding. I had found a piece of Quinn's clothes. And all around it? Quinn's blood.

I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"What? What is it?" Fiora was quickly by my side and staring down at the same thing I was. "No..." she whispered.

I shook my head. "No. She's not." I said, answering the question that she probably wanted to ask. "We know Quinn better than anyone else. She's alive, but she's injured."

"More reasons why we need to hurry."

The splatters of blood formed a thick trail for about a few paces before stopping. "She was dragged up to that point. Trail's too thick. Then she got up or something. The trail disappears."

"Or maybe she was carried." said Fiora. She walked forwards and examined the trail, following its direction. "There's some small splatters here and there, but they're barely visible. There's no way we can follow them. Half are already covered in snow."

"Fuck." I muttered under my breath. "We'll never find her."

"We will." She turned to look at me. "Do you not have faith in me?"

Noticing the smirk on her face I rolled my eyes. " _I_ found this."

"Only because I told you to."

"Yeah, I'd like to see _you_ turn into a dragon."

"I don't need to. I've got you."

"So you need me."

She chuckled. "I never said I didn't."

So together, we set off on a quest to find Quinn. As the cold chilled us, I mentally yelled at her for not getting lost in a warmer place.

* * *

Valor wasn't injured, only slightly annoyed at the "appalling" way he had been treated.

It turned out that we were to be kept "prisoners" in a room adjacent to where the leader lived. I hadn't yet been outside, but I assumed their buildings weren't very big, but sturdy enough to withstand blizzards. I figured that this must have been the only place they had to put me, as I doubted there'd be many rooms to spare in such a war-focused tribe.

I had a rope tied to both my ankles so I could just about walk but couldn't run. My wrists _had_ been tied, but the leader had cut the bindings off some time ago, saying that there was no way I could be a threat. I figured that must have been her way of insulting me.

I sat huddled in a corner, hugging Valor, in an attempt to keep warm. They hadn't given me any blankets and some of my clothing was ripped. As I shivered, I mentally cursed everything, including that god damned table and the god damned chairs and that stupid god damned door. It was oddly satisfying.

Soon, the leader was back and handed me a small bowl filled with some sort of steaming broth. I took it with shaking and slightly blue hands and sipped it quietly. She was out the door as fast as she had come in.

The hot liquid brought some sense back amongst my insides but my limbs still shook. Valor had taken a few sips too, but claimed he didn't like it (and then sneakily tried to sip some more).

In an attempt to forget the cold I tried falling asleep. At least the freezing air numbed my shoulder, and the pain was tolerable. I leaned against the wall and felt Valor huddle closer. The world was slipping away until I felt something being placed around me. I opened my eyes and met an ice cold blue that paradoxically brought me warmth. I was now embraced by a thick fur blanket as the leader towered above me.

"You're no use to us dead." She said, as if needing an excuse.

"I'm no use to you alive, either." I replied tiredly.

She fell silent for a few moments, before speaking again. "We'll attack the Avarossan tomorrow at best. Demacia too if they dare stand in our way."

"Why are you telling me this? I've already told you - there's _too many of them and too little of you._ "

Her face contracted into what looked like a snarl. She didn't scare me anymore. Instead, everything she did just made me notice her features even more. The way her eyes seemed to darken when she scowled, or the way her upper lip lifted slightly near one corner as if ready to growl. Her fists were clenched, outlining her toned forearms, exposed by the short sleeved furs she wore. All suddenly more prominent in my mind's eye.

"My warriors shan't be compared to yours, Demacian."

I smiled as a response which seemed to anger her further.

"Who do you think you are?" She pressed on.

The broth's peculiar warmth was enveloping me and my words flew out of my mouth without my knowing. "I could fight you any day."

She took a step closer towards me, her eyes locked with mine. I looked straight into those taciturn blue orbs and felt an illusory wave of warmth envelop me, maybe from the broth, maybe not. I expected her to lash out, to hit me, to strangle me, but instead her anger seemed to diminish.

"Get some rest." She muttered before leaving and the room fell silent.

I fell asleep shortly after, and the world slipped from my grasp.

* * *

"Sejuani! I'm about to send this to the Avarossan. Do you want to hear it?" Udyr came up to me as I stepped out onto the snow, waving a letter in the air.

"Brilliant. I don't need you to read it, as long as you've told them we're declaring war."

"Certainly. I kept it short and simple. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Send it to them immediately."

He nodded and walked away hurriedly. He would give the letter to our courier, who would deliver it within less than a day if he hurried. There would be no more Avarossa, no more Ashe, no more bullshit. After them, I will destroy Lissandra and then Freljord would finally be ruled rightfully.

But Demacia? What business has Demacia got to do with this? That Demacian we captured isn't lying, for sure, not after we threatened her poor little bird. Who am I kidding? To be honest that feathered shit gave us more trouble than the Demacian herself. I don't know what super food she feeds him.

She was right before. I don't think she's any use to us alive. I made a mental note to get rid of her later, she'd just be using up our scarce supplies. But should I really? It feels unjust to kill her, she's not the one at fault in this... But she's Demacian, and they have come to help the Avarossan - surely she is just a filthy spy, an evil, dark and pitiful spy.

But she looks so innocent. When she huddled in a corner shivering, she was so helpless, so small, so fragile. But the way she lit up at the warmth she was suddenly alive, though sleepy, cowering away in the blanket, like an arctic fox burrowing deeper into the ground.

And just like an arctic fox, she was so beautiful.

I made my way down to Brynjolf's for a drink and was greeted by a small cheer from another dozen tribesmen already sat down at the tables, wide tankards in their hands. Brynjolf chuckled from behind the counter and passed me my whiskey from an array of several other drinks on the shelves behind him. I nodded a thank you and sat down on my own as the chatter resumed in the room.

What is it with that Demacian? Does her voice really sound that melodious or is it just my frozen ears gone numb? Do her eyes really light up that brightly or is it just my eyes gone blind from the eternal whiteness of the snow? And most of all, do I really care about what happens to her, or is it just my mind gone tired from all the fighting and the wars?

I took a gulp of whiskey and felt its warmth envelop me. The noise around me became inaudible as I sank within my own thoughts. Suddenly, someone touched my soldier.

"Hey! I knew you'd be here! Shouldn't you be preparing our warriors?" Udyr asked.

I shook my head. "There's nothing to prepare. They all know what's happening, they have their weapons sharpened and armor fixed. We couldn't be readier for tomorrow."

He smiled. "You're a great leader, Sejuani."

I tried to cherish that statement, but something bugged me.

"Udyr? Can I talk to you about something?" I muttered, just enough for him to hear me.

He chuckled. "Of course. I know what you're gonna say."

"Good. I don't want to say it."

"Keep her alive then. Forget about her until after we get back. Keep your head in the game, Sejuani - it won't be long now." His strong voice brought me back to the ground.

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

 _Wat wat wat wat? Well at least this is a longer ass chapter. I feel like I'm stalling so much.  
_

 _HOPE YOU HAD A NICE CHRISTMAS, ALL YA CHRISTMAS CELEBRATING AMIGOS. if not then here, have free cookies *pulls out cookies from bra* what do you mean you dont want one anymore?_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

* * *

Jarvan's troops had indeed arrived at their destination, sometime around noon the next day. When he conversed with Ashe in a hurry, he was petrified to hear what she had to say. Despite his best efforts, he was too late.

"We've already sent troops to the Winter's Claw at first light. Sejuani declared war and I wasn't going to stand around and let her play this sick game of hers. I wasn't going to allow her to attack a second time, so we attacked her first." Ashe had said, making Jarvan curse under his breath.

"You should have waited! We would have been here to talk sense into all this." He replied.

"You were too late and that's that. Plus, you would have had no one to talk sense into. Sejuani doesn't do `words`."

And so they awaited news from Ashe's troops.

* * *

Early in the morning, the courier had reappeared and called for Sejuani immediately. She was busy rounding up her soldiers as they were ready to set off, but he drew her attention. He panted heavily as he spoke hastily.

"I delivered the message... Ashe was so angry... I saw... a lot of her soldiers... headed this way..." By the time he finally caught his breath Sejuani was no longer listening.

She chuckled and turned to the others. "Did anyone else hear that? Ashe has the guts to come this way! We'll show her what it means to be at war. Udyr, tell Volibear to position his troops on the outskirts of the tribe as soon as possible. I want to ambush them as they come in. Then Olaf, gather up your men and head further South - you'll be our first line of defence. After being ambushed and slowed down, the rest of us will charge in to finish them off. I will make sure to be leading said charge. Does everyone understand?"

There was a chatter of agreement amongst the soldiers before they scattered in different directions under the watchful eye of their leader until everyone was gone except her. Sejuani bore a lopsided grin on her face, a glint of pleasure shining in her eyes.

She hadn't noticed me yet as I stood to her right, hidden in the shadow of her dwelling. I don't know why I felt the need to see what was happening, but it concerned me and the fact that the leader hadn't locked the door didn't help either. I had wrapped the blanket around me so that I wouldn't freeze to death, but my teeth still clattered against eachother.

Suddenly, as if she had felt my gaze, she turned towards me, surprised at first.

"You shouldn't leave doors unlocked. I could have been gone by now." I said to her.

"You wish. There's nowhere for you to go. You wouldn't get five feet away from here before dropping dead."

I shrugged. "Still. Takes away the whole point of being a prisoner of war."

"That's kinky." She said, and I chuckled, suddenly feeling slightly embarassed.

"You should go." I said finally.

"Get back inside before you freeze. Change the bandages on your shoulder if you need to as well." Sejuani looked away as if she said something she shouldn't have.

"Thank you."

She was about to leave, but turned back towards me one last time. "Err, before I go, can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"What's your name?"

I was taken aback by her question, so I hesitated for a second before answering. "Quinn."

She smiled, a warm trail of kindness upon a countenance of ice and snow. And then she disappeared.

I went back inside and was greeted by Valor who looked back at me cynically. I disregarded his suspicion and went about caring for my shoulder with the bandages that I scavanged from the leader's room.

Looking around, I finally noticed the countless trophies that lay around her room. The bear pelt on the floor, a troll's skull upon a shelf and the grand elk antlers displayed on the wall. There were a couple of claws as big as my palm on a table in the center of the room, as well as a shield lying forgotten in the middle of it. Her bed was relatively big and covered in soft furs, while a spare set of armour hung on the wall opposite.

Anxiety overcame me. What if the Avarossan won? What would they do to me? Would they believe the fact that I'm Demacian? Would they make me _their_ prisoner instead? Or would they go the easy route and just kill me straight away?

But that wasn't the primary problem. Looking around the room I realized just how much Sejuani was capable of, how much she accomplished. Maybe she deserved to win? Maybe I was anxious about _her_ life? I shook the thoughts from my head. This wasn't my place to judge. Whatever happened in Freljord couldn't possibly influence me. It couldn't possibly.

I let out a sigh.

Valor pecked my hand. _"She fed me seeds! Seeds! Why would you worry about her? She fed me_ seeds! _"_

I chuckled. "You _are_ a bird after all, Val."

He pecked my hand again in disapproval.

* * *

Volibear was in position, scattered around the passing amidst the mountains. The Avarossan would have no choice but to walk straight through his hidden troops. Then, Olaf was ready to initiate. His soldiers were positioned slightly higher up along the side of the two mountains overlooking the crossing. They would charge down at top speed. Finally, Udyr and I were slightly futher North, ready to deliver the killing blows. No matter how many idiots Ashe chose to send, they will all die at the mercy of our blades.

Bristle was uneasy and excited for the bloodshed that was to follow. Ever since the day I met him he never left my side, and there hasn't been a battle where we weren't together.

Udyr turned towards me and I leant down in order to hear his hushed voice.

"I saw you talking to her earlier."

I rolled my eyes. "Stalker. So?"

He smiled. "Maybe something's changing about you. I don't know what it is though."

"Nothing's changing. Your head's in the clouds."

"Maybe so."

The silence was suddenly broken as we heard roaring in the distance. Volibear had ambushed them. Shortly, there was the yelling of Olaf's squadron. My muscles ached with adrenaline as a smile formed upon my lips.

"Chaaaarge!" I yelled and at that instant Bristle dashed forwards, followed by yelling warriors.

We charged right in the middle of the dumbstruck Avarossan. Some were being flung into the air by bears three times their size, others lay injured on the floor, axes cracking their bones. But most importantly, the rest were being crushed by a giant boar's rage as I flung my flail at their weak figures.

The world around me turned into a frantic chaos of screaming and yelling as I hit every Avarossan that was within my grasp. Their soldiers fell, one after the other, like dried and rotten leaves being blown by gusts of wind.

The row of archers that were positioned behind the infantry soon started to scatter, some fleed, some pulled out daggers as my men approached them. As the infantry fell, I charged towards the archers myself and knocked down several at once before they could even draw their bows. I laughed at the way they flew through the air, at the way they fell like the weaklings they were.

In the rage and mania that enveloped the crossing I charged blindly from one idiot to another. I was overcome by our definite victory as the dwindling archers all started fleeing that I didn't notice that one of them remained to take aim, hidden behind the remnants of a fallen tree. I felt a searing pain in my left ribs as I lost my balance and fell to the ground. I heard the archer scream in pain and Bristle's warm breath as he looked down at me. I reached up slowly and patted his snout to reassure him and grabbed onto one of his tusks as he hauled me back onto my feet.

I winced at the pain the jolted through my torso and felt the scarlet liquid seeping through the furs underneath my armour. An arrow stood wedged just under the rim of my metal garments, shot at the perfect angle.

Looking around, I saw everyone looking at me as I clutched my side. Very few men were injured, and none of ours lay amongst the corpses. Our surprise attack was successful.

I let out a laugh despite my pain. "For Freljord!" I shouted and received a response of loud and bellowing cheers.

We carried the few wounded back into the tribe to be treated, but I refused help. I slowly walked back, occasionally leaning on Bristle for support. Like always, I would tend my own wounds - depending on someone was weak and pitiful.

By the time we all got back it was late afternoon and everyone was cheerful with the euphoria of success. I went back inside my home, hearing the gusts of winds from outside rattle the few things within my room. Quinn's almost immediate appearence made me jump.

"Hey, are you..." She stopped when she saw the blood and arrow.

She picked up a cloth and the bucket of water that lay by the fire. She dipped the cloth in water and gestured for me to sit down on the bed. I shook my head and held out my hand for the cloth.

"I'll do it." I said.

"Sejuani, you're injured badly. Let me help you. You'll make things worse if you move around too much."

"I shan't let you!" I sat down on the bed but despite my protests she held me still as she removed my armour, kneeling down in front of me. I tried to push her away but she would have none of it. She just told me I'd make it worse again.

"I'm gonna have to get your undergarments off as well to bandage it. Is that alright?"

I nodded and she slowly and gently removed my clothing, leaving me bare chested. I shouldn't have felt embarassed (for when have I last felt that way?) but I couldn't help looking away, feeling slightly ashamed for some reason.

Quinn however didn't take any notice and was focused solely on the wound. She dabbed away the blood with the wet cloth before studying the angle of the arrow.

"Just pull it out already." I said, feeling impatient.

"I need to pull it out just right, else I'll cause more damage. I know how arrows work, just trust me." She placed a warm and on my back and I had to fight back a small shiver. She grabbed the arrow with her other hand. "Don't move." She whispered and I held my breath. She pulled the arrow swiftly, but gently and steadily, before quickly placing the cloth back onto the wound.

She discarded the arrow and quickly bandaged my ribs. I winced as I felt the cut sting. She had put alcohol on the bandages to stop infection. I realized that she was wearing one of my spare furs, which made sense since her own clothing wasn't in good condition. I wasn't even mad, she looked cute with oversized sleeves.

"The cut wasn't big. It should heal on its own without stitches."

"I never used stitches in my whole life. Why would I need them now?"

Her eyes ran over the several other scars across my torso and I felt self-conscious again. However, she just smiled. "I gathered. I've seen all the beasts you've hunted. Maybe I was wrong to doubt your power."

The pain started to reside slightly as she was done patching me up.

"Thank you." I said, though it came out as a mere whisper.

She smiled once more as she looked up into my eyes. "Anytime."

When she stood up, I stood up with her. She looked at me confused before I lost my mind and gently cupped her face into my hands and sealed our lips. A warm sensation overcame me as she kissed me back and everything around us was gone. The world went silent as I held her and nothing mattered anymore.

When we pulled away I found myself staring into a pair of beautiful eyes and neither of us moved for a couple of moments.

Until reality hit me.

I tried to take a step back but hit the bed with my calves and I fell backwards onto it. As I looked up I heard her chuckle slightly. I nearly punched myself.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I don't know what overcame me..."

"Don't worry about it, Sejuani." She said smiling. "Now why don't you put a top on?" She handed me another set of furs since the last one was drenched in blood. "And for the record, you're not a bad kisser." She chuckled once more before leaving and going back into the other room.

I pulled the top on and let out an involuntary sigh.

* * *

Valor was still huddled in the blanket, but something told me he knew what had happened due to the look he gave me. To my surprise, he didn't make a comment the way he usually did and instead just pecked me lightly on the arm.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI

* * *

"I swear to shit Fiora this is all your fault. You didn't think this through at all and you dragged me in it and now we're fucked and it's cold and I can't see two feet in front of me - is this a blizzard? - and you probably don't give a fuck because you never feel the cold because your heart is already cold as ice and this is all your fault and now we're lost and-"

"I can't even hear you."

"Yes you can."

"I can't actually."

"But you just did."

She took a deep sigh.

"Listen, if you're going to whinge do it in your head. How was I to know this wouldn't work?" she replied, acting oddly calm. "Help me out and find somewhere we can spend the night. It's getting dark."

"We just need to find a cave or something. It's always warmer in caves cuz they shield you from the wind and I remember when I was young I used to live in a pretty big cave with my dad - who was a dragon so needed a pretty big cave and all that - but then... then he died and... and I never really went back to that cave. But I still remember it - it was so warm and cozy - so if we just find a cave we could actually survive-"

"Shyvana." She interrupted me. "You're ranting _again._ "

"Sorry."

We hiked further up a mountain, determined to find a cave. I tried my best to keep my mouth shut but I get bored and there was nothing to do other than shiver and peer through a veil of falling snow.

"You know, they say every snowflake is unique, so every single one that falls has its own beautiful pattern but when one melts... does that mean that pattern is gone forever and we'll never see a snowflake like that again? How many snowflakes do you think there are in the sky-"

"Look!" Fiora suddenly shouted. "I think I see something." She pointed to what looked like a dark hole further up the mountain, though with our impaired vision it could have been anything. "Go see if it's a good cave."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because I'm not climbing all the way up there for nothing. I'll wait here for you."

I sighed and headed towards the cave. As I walked a few paces I realized why she sent me alone. I hauled myself up a few boulders and hiked a steep slope to reach the cave, carved into the side of the mountain. I reached its mouth panting and once inside and I lit a fire to see in the darkness. It was pretty spacious and the wind didn't blow further in so there was little snow on the floor. Happy with our finding, I went back out to call for Fiora. I couldn't see her, so I just shouted blindly into the blizzard.

"It's cool! Come up."

"Get your ass down here!" She shouted back, her voice alarmed and uneven.

I didn't hesitate and headed back down immediately. I didn't turn into a dragon as I feared I wouldn't fit onto the narrow ledge of the mountain. As I jumped back down the blouders, I was met with Fiora facing a pack of snarling wolves. She slashed this way and that but there were many of them and it was nearly impossible to see their white coat amidst the snow.

I blew fire their way and heard one of them whimpering as he ran around trying to bite the flame on his back. They were startled and I took this opportunity to hit one of them off the side of the mountain. I heard Fiora stab another and as I blew more fire around to scare them away I heard the air around us go silent.

"D'you think they're gone?" I whispered.

"Fuck them, just get me up to that cave."

Looking at Fiora I noticed the patch or red upon her forearm. "Seriously? A wolf got you?"

"They took me by surprise! I didn't see them coming, ok?" She sighed. "I'll patch it up later, I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone."

"Oh, shut up with that bullshit, I told you to go up. Come on, we're gonna freeze to death."

We headed back up towards the cave. I helped Fiora up the boulders, as she embarassingly claimed that fine duelists weren't trained to climb boulders, and let her hold onto my arm for support as we hiked up the steep slope.

Once inside the cave we headed as far back as we could to escape the cold and I lit a fire in my hand to look at Fiora's arm. Despite what I had thought, the bite wasn't deep and the bleeding had already mostly stopped. It seemed like she could protect herself after all.

"There's nothing to bandage it with." I told her, feeling worried.

"Don't need to. It'll be fine." She replied.

We set up the sleeping bags that we had been carrying on our backs but every other resource we might have had lay forgotten with the other soldiers. We hadn't eaten that day and our stomachs were rumbling but hunting was no option at that time.

Fiora had put her sleeping bag down and I had put mine a couple of feet away, to which she objected.

"Oh no. No way you're letting me freeze in my sleep."

I chuckled and kicked it next to hers. "Shut up, Fiora, you just want me to hold you."

"Yeah. Cuz I'm cold. Get with it."

We chuckled.

"Maybe you should lower your dignity and just kiss me already." I said jokingly.

She had stopped laughing and turned to look at me. Before I had time to react she placed her hands on my shoulders and pecked me on the lips.

I blinked a few times, confused, and she looked away. Then, I smiled and took her hand.

"Finally." I said and she chuckled. In the dim light of the fire I was holding, I could make out a slight blush upon her cheeks. The grand duelist was blushing. Interesting.

"How about we get some sleep before we go and find Quinn again tomorrow?" She said and we settled in our sleeping bags. I had put the fire out and darkness enveloped us.

I placed an arm around her middle and held her back against me. She stopped shivering soon. As a half dragon, I have a high body temperature.

"Goodnight, Fiora." I whisper.

"Goodnight, Shyv." She replies before we fall silent.

* * *

"What are we going to do _now?"_ Olaf asked as he, Udyr and Volibear looked at me. The sky was darkening quickly and a blizzard was kicking up.

"Same plan. Just tomorrow. Our forces haven't been impacted too much so we can do it." I replied.

They nodded in agreement.

"How are you feeling?" Udyr asked.

"Not bad at all, actually. It wasn't as deep as I thought I guess." I ran my hand lightly over the bandage. "I should heal fairly quickly, I didn't stitch it as always but Quinn..." I stopped myself quickly and nearly kicked myself.

They looked at eachother confused. "Who's Quinn?" asked Volibear.

"I meant... Point is it's bandaged well and it won't slow me in battle. Any pain it causes me is nothing I can't handle."

Udyr was smiling but I pretended not to notice.

"Fine. As long as the attack is still on I'm happy. Tomorrow at first light it is then." And with that, Olaf walked away followed by Volibear. Udyr carried on facing me.

The wind blew stronger and the snow fell more heavily than before.

"Has our leader finally got a girlfriend?"

I frowned. "No. Don't be stupid."

He raised his eyebrows.

"I'm serious!" I said. "I... I don't know... I'm not so keen on love..."

"But that's only what you say."

"Don't question me. I don't have time for such trivial things. She's a spy for all we know and I should have banished her or something-"

"Don't be stupid, Sejuani. You had your chance to kill her and you couldn't bring yourself to do it. That says enough to me. Plus, be honest with me, did she _just_ bandage you?"

I hesitated. "Y-yeah."

"Honestly."

"N-no... I mean... she kissed me, maybe... well... I did actually..."

He chuckled. "My point is proven."

"I-I got caught up in the moment. I don't know what was going through my head."

He sighed. "But you _do."_

"Do you think... Do you really think that... that after everything I've been through I could be capable of loving someone? Udyr, I have wrestled with death itself countless times in my life. I watched my family die before my very eyes and up until now the only thing that concerned me was survival and power over Freljord. I was destined to die, and I didn't. I wasn't _given_ a life, I _made_ a life. I couldn't possibly fuck up now and throw it away because... because... because of a stranger."

He looked at me with understanding in his eyes. He spoke slowly. "Love isn't an endless abbyss you fall into to die, Sejuani, the same way love isn't something that weakens the muscles and breaks the bones. No. Love is something that gives purpose. Gives... life."

"I already have a purpose."

"And who would accomplish it alongside you? Who would cherish your victory with you? Who will hold you every night when the day is done to tell you `You did it, Sejuani. I'm so proud of you`?"

I was left speechless. It seemed to me that what he was saying was useless and trivial, but it felt as though something stabbed me. I had never doubted Udyr but... was this the time to start?

"Listen," he said, "what you do doesn't affect me in any way. But please, remember it's alright for ice to thaw."

He looked at the sky. There was heavy snowfall and it looked as though as storm was on its way. The wind howled like a mad bear and he looked concerned. "It's gonna be a cold night. Better get inside before it's too late. Have a good sleep."

"You too." I muttered but he was already gone.

With a sigh I headed back inside my home and smiled at the warmth of the fireplace. I got ready for bed until I thought of something. It was indeed going to be a cold night, but did I care enough?

"Fuck it." I muttered and headed to the door linking my room with the one Quinn was in. "Udyr is always right."

Unconsciously, I held my breath.

* * *

There was knock on the door. Surprised, I looked up from my corner and peered over the top of the blanket Valor and I lay huddled in. Silence. Was Sejuani knocking to come in? Since when does she do that? Was something wrong? Or was that not Sejuani at all?

There was a second, slightly louder knock.

"Sorry, come in!" I called out, unsure of what else to do.

Slowly, the door opened and I saw Sejuani standing in the doorway.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey."

"Um, are you cold?"

I chuckled at the question. "It's hard not to be. I'm not used to this weather."

"Well, um, I don't have another blanket or a spare bed but... you can come sleep with me if you want. It'll be warmer, that's all." She said, looking down.

I remembered Valor and I was about to refuse, not wanting to leave him alone. But as I looked down at him he started nudging me away with a cheeky smirk. I hesitated at first but then he pecked me and pushed me away.

"Alright." I said, standing up.

Sejuani looked up at me and smiled. "Is your eagle gonna be ok though?"

I chuckled. "I don't know what goes on through his mind sometimes, but yeah. I think he will be."

Valor squawked in approval and we headed into Sejuani's room. As we got comfortable I realized that she was indeed right. It was much warmer in her bed.

She could only sleep on her right side now, because of the wound, so she had her back to me. Luckily, I took my brain by surprise and slid an arm around her waist before it had time to object. I lay close to her back and cherished our shared body heat. She didn't say anything, and I was suddenly scared that I was making her uncomfortable.

"Is... Is this ok?" I whispered unevenly.

"Yeah. It is." She whispered back and all my fears disappeared.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

 _Little spoon Sejuani is important and canon af. I had like 3 different POVs and I'm not even sorry.  
_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII

* * *

 _The wind was howling as a storm was kicking up. I shielded my eyes from the pieces of ice that were blown through the air and walked forward. I couldn't see anything - my vision was blurred and I could only make out the shape of the mountains surrounding my tribe. I felt a searing pain where the arrow had struck me and felt dizzy. I winced and nearly lost my balance._

 _As I looked up, I saw my family. For the first time in fifteen years I saw them right before my eyes. They smiled at me - my sisters were not frozen to the bone, my brothers were not eaten alive and my parents were rightful tribe leaders once more. My knees started shaking and I started chuckling as I limped towards them. My limp turned into a walk which turned into a run but I never reached them. It was as if they were getting further away with each step I took.  
_

 _I called out for them but my voice was nothing more than a whimper. I stopped running and crouched as a jolt of intolerable pain overcame me. I clenched my jaw so I wouldn't yell and shut my eyes tightly. When the pain diminished I looked up again, hoping to see my family once more._

 _How I wished for my eyes to close, but they stayed wide open._

 _My brothers' eyes were gouged out, black blood running down their faces. Their bodies twitched, mutilated with deep cuts and bite marks, with bones sticking out at odd angles at their joints. My sisters were frozen alive, their bodies blue and arms missing, their mouths open, screaming silently and their necks twisted. My parents were not there and instead there were two bloody crowns, rusty and broken, sizzling in a yellow, puss-like liquid._

 _My breathing quickened and I started gasping for breath._

 _I needed to get away from the awful sight. I twisted around as quick as I could, calming myself down. But in front of me now were the people of my tribe. They were fighting - fighting against the Avarossan and they were losing. I saw them fall one after the other. I saw Volibear taken down with countless arrows, roaring as his eyes widened madly before he collapsed. I saw Olaf dismembered, swinging his axe with his remaining arm before it, too, was pulled out of its socket. I saw Udyr give up. He watched his comrades die next to him and kneeled down before his enemy. He was decapitated._

 _I cried out to them but it was useless. I couldn't get to them._

 _Next to me, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I hesitated to look but I couldn't help it. It was Quinn. She smiled as if trying to comfort me before she, too, collapsed. Lodged into her back was an arrow._

 _I yelled at a nonexistant Ashe. I yelled at her to kill me as well. But nothing happened. After everything I had been through in life, I was begging Ashe to kill me. Anger and rage were building up inside me, but looking around me I realized I had no hope._

 _Soon, all the corpses around me rose, their eyes blankly white. They smiled before they turned to darkness._

* * *

I awoke with a gasp and sat up immediately. I was panting heavily and had to look around me to know where I was. Quinn sat up to and put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched, remembering the nightmare.

"Are you ok?" She asked. Looking at her I didn't see the horrors of my dream, and instead I found a pair of beautiful eyes expressing worry towards me.

"Yeah. Sorry. It was just a nightmare."

She was about to put an arm around my shoulders but decided against it after seeing me flinch before. I sighed and embraced her myself, feeling my heartbeat slow and my breathing even. I never had nightmares, and if I ever did I never paid attention to them. This one was different.

She ran a hand through my hair and lowered it to my wais. Her head rested on my shoulder and her breath on my neck sent a shiver down my spine. I was happy to have her there to comfort me, unsure of why I needed it.

There was sudden jolt of searing pain in my ribs.

I clenched my jae and moved away from Quinn. I didn't dare move as the pain paralysed my body. As fast as it had come, it went away.

"W-Wha-"

"M-My ribs..." I breathed out, as the pain caused me to gasp for breath once more. "I don't know..."

"Let me have a look."

"Quinn, there's no need-"

"Let me look."

She lifted my top up so she could see the bandage. Her face said it all.

"S-Sejuani... I-It might be worse than we thought." she whispered, her voice trembling.

"N-Nonesense." I looked down myself and almost winced at what I saw.

The bandage was soaked in blood again, but amongst the scarlet liquid was a viscous black liquid dripping slowly from the edges. I brought a shaking hand up to touch it and it clung to my finger like a leech. My whole body started shaking and I stood up, frantically looking for a cloth to wipe it with.

Quinn got up too and grabbed a cloth before I even had time to understand what was going on. She carefully removed the bandage and wiped the wound. With the blood and black liquid gone, I could see what had become of the "not so deep" cut.

My skin looked frozen and cracked around a black crevasse that was once where the arrow had struck. I ran my fingers lightly along it, wincing at the pain after feeling the hardened and rough skin on the cut's edge.

"D-Do you think..." she muttered, but her voice trailed off.

"What? Tell me."

"Poison. D'you think it might be..."

"Yeah."

The sound of my breathing intesified and suddenly the world seemed to spin out of my grasp. Although I was sitting, I became dizzy and fell backwards, but was caught by Quinn who steadied me. Something new was spreading through me - fear. I felt unable to stand and there was a horrible ringing in my ears. My ribs burned with a searing pain and I felt my body sweat. I had pictured my death to be honorable, in the midst of battle, but poison? Poisoned by a goddamned archer?

I chuckled and Quinn looked down at me baffled. I wasn't going to die. Not that night. Not like that.

"We're gonna find the body..." I whispered. "The archer. I want to know what I was shot with."

The pain intensified, but I fought against it. Hadn't I been through worse? Without hesitation I stood up, nearly lost my balance again, but steadied myself before Quinn grabbed my arm.

"You can't go out now... There's a storm..." she said.

"Fuck the storm. Fuck this pain, this cut, this arrow, this _fucking Ashe._ Fuck them all." I said coldly, and headed to the door. To my surprise, Quinn was following. I sighed. "If you're gonna come with me, grab yourself that fur blanket."

I leaned against the door in case I would feel dizzy again as she wrapped a blanket around her. As soon as we opened the door, several things within the room rattled violently as we were hit by a strong gust of cold wind. We headed outside, the door slamming behind us, and I wasted no time. The blizzard didn't faze me and the cold numbed the pain. It wasn't bleeding anymore, although I noticed a small trickle of the black liquid trying to escape. Quinn was traipsing closely behind me, and I grabbed her hand out of fear that she'll lose me in the veil of falling snow.

Searching for a dead body in the middle of the blizzard wasn't a smart move on foot (or anyhow to be fair) so we went to get Bristle first, who was sleeping soundly in his own shelter. I nudged him and he stood up, looking baffled as to why I woke him. He sniffed my ribs and let out a soft grunt, nudging my shoulder lightly. He didn't like it either.

I mounted with more difficulty than usual, then held out my arm for Quinn and hauled her up behind me.

"Hold on." I said, and she placed her hands around my waist. To be honest, at first I meant for her to hold on to the saddle, but I'm not the one to complain.

Shortly, we headed swiftly back to the place of the battle, and looked around as best we could, hoping that the bodies wouldn't have all been covered by the snow already.

As we wandered around, I saw an imprint in the snow. Leading Birstle closer, it looked like the shape of a fallen body that had been moved. Atop the white blanket was a puddle of the same viscous black solution that dripped from my wound, and next to it was the quiver of arrows that had been left behind.

I dismounted and rushed to it. Why was the body gone? There were no other marks in the snow - it wasn't dragged, someone must have picked it straight up, and recently, as the snow hadn't yet had time to cover it up.

I heard a small thud behind me. As I turned I saw Quinn getting up from the ground, covered in snow. Oh yeah. I forgot to help her down.

Instead, I chuckled at the way she nearly faceplanted as she had tried to dismount the way I had.

"Shut up." She said, although a smile was spreading across her face too.

I picked up the arrows and examined them. There was nothing strange about them.

"I know who to get these to." I said. "Come on."

As I turned back, the pain was suddenly back. I simply clenched my teeth and ignored it at first, but as I walked back to Bristle my legs froze and I would have fallen to the ground if Quinn hadn't have caught me and lowered me gently as I she couldn't hold me for long. She kneeled and I lay in her arms in the snow, paralysed, able only to writhe in pain as most of my body was irresponsive and paralysed.

I told myself it wasn't too late. Frustrated at my own body, I tried to kick and turn but nothing happened. I lay there panting. Looking up at Quinn, I saw a face filled with worry and panic. I tried to reach up and cup it with my hand, but I couldn't. I couldn't even tell her I was alright, as my jaw froze.

I heard thundering steps as Bristle seemed to start running away from us and Quinn whispered softly, "Hang in there."

* * *

 _ **Note**_

 _God dammit wut iz dis. wut iz wit dis poison dat comes and goes. Also... my poor poor Seju :'( *cries bcz Sejuani"  
Although this chapter sounds rushed I spent like a week on it. DAMN WHERE IZ MAH HEAD AT?  
_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

"Shyv."

Silence.

"Shyv!" She whispered slightly lowder and nudged my shoulder gently.

"Five more minutes."

"No! There's something outside, you lizard!"

"Fiora, I swear to fuck, if this is one of those times when you get scared by a cockroach I will fucking-"

"This isn't the time to be funny. Just listen-"

We fell silent. I could hear the wind howling and atop of it, the sound of slow, heavy footsteps and loud breathing, accompanied by an occasional grunt. I couldn't see it, the opening of the cave wasn't wide enough to give me a good view of the surroundings.

"What is it?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

I sighed.

"Well I can't sleep with that thing outside, let's go scare it away." I said, ready to stand up.

Fiora stopped me. "But you don't know what it is, you nugget!"

"Grab your blades, we'll see."

She sighed in frustration as she gave in and grabbed her equipment. We headed out slowly, and poked our head around the entrance. The snow had briefly stopped, so it was easy to see the big, heavy beast that walked along the mountain edge. Its fur was thick, but covered in some form of green slime that was hardening in the wind. Its breath was loud and it had its back to us.

"A troll?" Fiora whispered in my ear.

I nodded. "Well, goodbye Mr Troll."

I charged forward and enveloped myself in a cloak of fire. I lunged at the troll before he even had a chance to turn, while Fiora slashed this way and that. Thrown off balance, we pushed him off the side of the mountain, and saw him tumble down with a half roar half groan.

"Brilliant. Now let's get back to sleep-"

Another roar. And another.

"Er... Shyv?"

Charging from up the mountain were dozens more vile creatures, their mouths wide open in a war cry, carrying huge clubs.

"Ok, forget sleep. Run!"

We dashed away down the moutain, hurrying over the fallen rocks and jumping down as fast as we could. There was no way we would have reached the bottom in time. No way we could have lost them. They were faster than they looked and the whole mountain seemed to shake with their heavy strides.

"Jump on me!" I shouted.

"Shyvana, this isn't the time for that! Maybe later!"

"No! Jump on my back!"

She looked at me in disbelief.

"Trust me."

She jumped onto my back, right before I threw myself off the side of the mountain. I heard Fiora scream in terror, before I transformed. I had never flown with someone before and the extra weight strained my wings. We fell through the air for a few moments, before I managed to get us back up. The trolls stopped and stood there staring, dumbstruck at our speedy escape.

I flew through the mountains, unsure of where to go. All our supplies were back in the cave, but there was no getting them back now. As I looked down, the mountains were littered with trolls, patrolling the area in the dumb and pointless way trolls do.

"Where the fuck are we? What's with the trolls?"

There was no answer. Fiora was clinging to my back, trembling with fear. I didn't press for an answer.

My wings were aching from the extra effort, and my back felt numb. I couldn't go on for long, but there was nowhere to land. The trolls were everywhere.

"I'll try and get us away from the mountains. Maybe I'll find a clearing."

The sharp wind was stinging my face and it was starting to snow again. Maybe I could get us far enough. Maybe we could find Quinn. But what if she had fallen to the trolls? I hoped that she was safe, despite the odds.

"Shyv..." I heard a squeak from my back.

"What? Are you alright?"

"L-Look... O-over t-there..."

I didn't know where she was referring to, but as I was suddenly more aware of what was going on beneath us. A bunch of trolls were pushing a cart up down the mountain, and packed tightly within the cart were things that I've never seen before - large, dark crystals, rocking slowly back and forth in a pool of liquid that was starting to drip out of the cart. I squinted, but I couldn't make out any other useful details.

"What the hell...?" I said, but got no answer, aside from a tighter grip around my shoulders.

* * *

"The fuck happened?!" His voice boomed, making me jump.

Sejuani still lay in my arms, and although she had regained some control of her body, she wasn't able to stand and her speech was slurred. Judging by her expression, she was in immense pain and there was nothing I could do.

The bear guy bent down and lifted her up, placing her onto Bristle's back and led him back within the tribe. I picked up the arrows that Sejuani had dropped and walked beside them, watching in horror as she attempted to grab onto the boar's back with her limited movement. Why did we choose to come out here? How could I have been so stupid?

But the body... the body had completely vanished? All the other corpses were present and already covered in snow but... where was the archer?

As we entered the tribe's settlement, the bear guy led Bristle towards and old and abandoned looking hut on the outskirts. He took sejuani down and went on inside, and I followed closely behind. As we entered, I was hit by a sharp and strong smell, which nearly made me gag. The room was dark, but I could make out the endless herbs and flasks scattered around it, and the figure of a person rocking slowly back and forth in a rocking chair in the corner.

The bear dude helped Sejuani lie down on the fur carpet, as there was no bed nor table, while I stood behind them, watching helplessly. The stranger stood up and limped towards us. I saw the figure of an aging and shattered woman, dressed in a long cloak. She kneed beside Sejuani.

"She can't move..." I said, hoping that she would know how to help her, "There's a wound on her ribs... It's.. It's... I don't know, but she was struck with one of these."

I handed her the arrows and she took them from me. After looking at their tips, she placed them aside, reached for a foul smelling plant and popped it into her mouth. After chewing for a few moments, she spat out a green paste into her hands which she then rubbed onto the wound. Sejuani winced.

The old woman then stood and grabbed a flask, before pouring a mixture of different solutions and herbs into it. She then made Sejuani drink it, despite her gagging and trying to turn away. I didn't dare to interrupt, for I had a feeling the woman knew what she was doing. What is it about old people that makes them trustworthy? I don't know.

"Do you know what it is?" I asked, gesturing towards the arrows.

She looked at me. Her dark eyes seemed to peer right through me and felt a shiver go down my spine. "Not anymore." She whispered.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Not anymore." She repeated, before turning away and gathering some more herbs.

"What's wrong with the leader?" the bear guy asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The woman chuckled. "Why, she can't stand up for herself, surely."

The man lost his temper. "Listen here, old hag, you tell me what's caused this or I behead you myself!"

The woman just chuckled again and continued her brewing. By this point, Sejuani seemed to be moving a bit more freely.

"U-Udyr..." She whispered and the bear guy turned his attention towards her. "Don't go on with the attack."

"But..."

"If Ashe has this poison, what will our warriors be by night?"

"But... we never back away from a fight!"

She sighed and stretched her back as she managed to regain her movement more and more.

"We're not backing away. We're waiting for the perfect time."

She winced again as another wave of pain got hold of her. "Please... just wait for me to get better..."

Udyr clenched his fists as her stared at his feet. "Alright. There's no battle without you, Sejuani. I promise you that."

Suddenly, the door busted open. Another man barged in, an axe in his hand.

"Sejuani?!"

"Olaf..."

In a wave of madness, he turned towards me and before I could react he had his hands around my neck. "The fuck did you do to her?! Fucking Demacian freak!"

I struggled against his grip, until he was knocked to the floor. Towering above him was Sejuani, panting before reaching to Udyr to stabilise herself again. She sat down, and winced in pain, while I was dumbstruck against the wall.

"You... fucking idiot..." She was panting, but managed to convey so much rage in her tone that the whole room seemed to tremble.

Olaf was standing up, clutching the side of his head where he had been hit. He grunted and wiped away a small drip of blood that escaped his nose.

"Wha...?" He breathed out.

"Nobody has the right to hurt her anymore." She said. "She's not a captive anymore, understood?"

"But... Demacia..."

Sejuani turned to look at me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, it's no problem."

She sighed. "Don't be so stupid, Olaf."

"I-I didn't know..." he turned towards me. "I'm sorry, alright? You have to understand me."

"It's alright."

"Don't fight in here." Said the woman, as she approached with a bowl filled with another paste. She started rubbing it onto Sejuani's ribs and she winced for the hundreth time.

"Will you be able to cure her?" Olaf asked.

"No."

There was a long pause before anyone had registered the answer.

"What?" I exclaimed. "But you must be able to... all these remedies and there's nothing you can do to make it go away?"

She sighed. "I can only do so much. It won't ever go away. As I said, I don't know how to fully treat it. Not anymore."

"You're gonna have to tell me more than that." Sejuani said.

"It's an utterly ancient method of killing." The old woman answered. "It was common thousands of years back and there wasn't a single healer that didn't know of its ways. The teachings were passed down of course... but by this point they were vague descriptions of what was once an intriquate remedy. I'm sorry. It's out of my power."

"There's no way this is going to kill me." She answered.

The old woman shook her head. "You have no idea. It spreads throughout the body. You experienced some of it first hand just now - were you not paralysed?" She paused to sigh. "The poison will spread. It darkens the blood, turns it into an essence of demons long forgotten. It freezes the flesh, makes it crack and shatter, like a broken mirror. And lastly, it rids the victim of their senses, leaves them locked away in a dark, silent, eternal abyss."

There was a long pause, before Olaf spoke up.

"This is fucked up. We're marching right up to Ashe and demanding an answer."

"There's no way. We'll all get killed by this... this shit. We'll need a better plan. Some way to completely wipe people out... without offering her a chance to as much as strike back."

"Guerrilla troops." Said Udyr.

"Burning her town." Added Olaf.

"Or maybe..." I butted in. "We should organise a peace treaty. Now with Demacia here, they will be influenced by our peace talks and..."

"Nonesense." Said Olaf. "Peace? I'm not a lamb."

"She won't listen." Added Sejuani. "There's no way she'll want to cooperate."

"But she has in the past!"

"Think about it. Your enemy is dying and they're trying to make peace with you just so you could give them the cure. Really? Would you fall for that?" She answered, and I fell silent. "Look, I'm sorry, but... I don't think Ashe will listen anymore."

I nodded. "Maybe you're right."

The old woman had used up her paste and stood back up. "Right, everyone out. My job is done here."

Udyr and Olaf headed out and I helped Sejuani up.

"Rest for the night." The woman said, and handed her a large flask filled with a deep green liquid. "Listen here, leader, if you feel dizzy again take this. Don't want you to fall dead again. Now head out."

She leaned against me with her arm around my shoulders as we walked slowly back towards her house. Bristle showed concern for his master and I couldn't help but giggle at the cuteness of his little grunts as he tried to help her walk by nudging her lightly. Such a grand beast showing such deep affection.

As we entered her home, we got into bed and I asked her if she would like to be left alone. She looked up at me and shook her head slightly, as if embarrassed to say no. I snuggled next to her and pulled her closer, and felt her let out a sigh of relief. Finally, I was no longer cold, and neither was she.

"Quinn?" she whispered.

"Hm?"

"How are we going to get you back to Demacia?"

"Really? You want me to go away already?" I joked.

"N-no! I... I was just wondering... because you're not from here and..." she ran her hand across mine. Her palm was rough, but warm and gentle. "I just want you to be safe."

I chuckled. "I can take care of myself, Sejuani. Don't worry. I'll be safe."

"Do you promise?"

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll do everything in your power to keep safe. Please?"

"I promise." I reached over and kissed her neck, feeling her shiver.

"Thank you."

"And you'll get better. Won't you?"

"I won't let poison take me. Beasts haven't felled me, why should this?"

I ran my fingers across her bare stomach. She flinched and chuckled.

"I didn't think you'd be so ticklish." I laughed as well.

She didn't reply, and instead nudged me lightly with her elbow.

We fell silent, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

 _I know this sounds like it's going nowhere and I haven't updated in a million years but the truth is I secretely died and then came back to life. Idk after re-reading I realize how boring it must sound, but I kind of have a plot going on so I have to finish it now that I've started XD_

 _Plus, I wantz moar flufffff and I'm panicking about writing the sexy scene (which will come. not now. but it will)._

 _btw ticklish sej is also canon af and no one can object XD_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX

* * *

The troops hadn't returned. In the night, a sole archer limped his way back into the tribe. A few men helped him to Ashe and Jarvan, as he weakly trembled as he stuttered.

"O-Our m-men. Th-they're all d-dead."

The colour had drained out of Ashe's face as if she didn't expect her powers to not be enough. Jarvan sighed and looked at her as if to say "I told you so".

"B-but..." the archer continued, gasping for breath, clinging onto his bloodied leg, "Se-Sejuani w-was injured."

He collapsed onto the floor, twitching at Ashe's feet. Despite her soldier writhing and dying before her, she smiled at the thought of Sejuani being unable to fight. She bent down to thank him, before nodding towards her men to help him up.

She turned towards Jarvan. "We got the most important asset they have."

"Are you out of your mind?" He replied. "The troops you sent are dead and all you think about is the injured leader?"

"Of course. I have many other soldiers, but how many leaders does the Winter's Claw have?"

"So you're sure that this is going to end once we take them down?"

"Of course."

"Then Demacia will help you."

* * *

"Where the fuck are we?"

"Wow, Shyvana thank you for rescuing me, I know how hard it was for you to fly this far, but I'm so grateful you saved us from those ugly trolls you're the real hero here."

She rolled her eyes, but her smile showed that she was just too stubborn to admit it.

"No but seriously where are we?"

I looked around. We were surrounded by pines and thick snow. "I don't know. I crashed more than landed to be honest."

"And we left everything back in that cave!"

"Oh excuse me princess lemme run back and get it for you."

"Hurry then."

I chuckled. "Shut up."

"At least I've got my sword."

We wandered around, unsure of what we were looking for. With no sleeping bags it would be hard to sleep at night without the fear of freezing to death, so we decided it would just be better to just look for any signs of Quinn.

"Did you see what those trolls were carrying?" Fiora asked suddenly.

I nodded. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"They looked like huge crystals."

"But that black goo dripping from them? What was _that?_ It looked like that thing humans drink in the morning."

She sighed. "That's not what coffee looks like."

"But what could a bunch of trolls be doing with it?"

"I don't know much about the Freljord, but aren't the trolls part of a tribe? What if they're a weapon that they plan on using against the others?"

"Crystals? They're gonna what, hurl them at people?"

"Not everything is a physical weapon. There might be some magic or some something. Either way, I think Jarvan's gotten involved in something bigger than he expected."

"Yeah but doesn't he always. He's probably gonna be cowering away in a corner waiting for his boyfriend Garen to save him. And then he's gonna take all the credit for how great Demacia is. And when we-"

"Shh!"

"What?"

"Shh! I hear something."

We ducked behind a pine and poked our heads around its trunk.

In the distance there was another troll.

"Oh not these shits again." I whispered.

It was carrying something. It had the sillhouette of a human, its body limp in the monster's arms. He placed the body into a cart amongst more of those peculiar crystals and walked away. Something told me he was going to be back for it soon.

"Come on!" Fiora dragged me forward.

We looked around the cart. The crystals were smaller than the ones from before, roughly the size of my forearm, but still covered in the same black goo. The man lay lifeless on top of them, his face pale with patches of purple around his eyes, a bow strapped to his back but no arrows.

"Ew, why are they carrying a dead body?" Fiora asked.

"Maybe they're going to bury it."

"Bury it? The trolls?"

"Good point."

"We should follow it to see where it's going."

"Or we could just kill ourselves right here and now. Are you out of your mind? We don't know what these things are doing!"

"But there's only one way to find out."

We heard heavy footsteps once more, so we ran and ducked behind a tree again. The troll was back. It took one of the crystals and smashed it in his huge hands. Black goo exploded all over his arm and he lifted the man's head so that the liquid would drip into his mouth. The body seemed to convulse and shake, its skin becoming cracked and grey like mountain cliffs. Soon, the man sprang back to life and as he moved his newly hardened skin cracked and roared. He panted madly and foamed at the mouth.

Through insane laughted her seemed to say, "I got her. I got her."

The troll didn't seem to notice as he washed his arm in the snow and dragged the cart away. The man stayed seated atop the crystals, crying with hysterical laughter.

"D'you still wanna follow that?" I whispered.

"Even more now."

And slowly, we drifted in and out of shadows, following the cart.

* * *

In the morning Sejuani said that the pain had diminished. She was able to walk on her own and didn't feel any discomfort anymore. We both knew that it was just a matter of time before her wound flared up again but none of us said it.

We were determined to look for a cure - only so would Sejuani's tribe be able to conquer Ashe without turning to stone.

We had some broth for breakfast, and none of us seemed ready to go outside just yet, but there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened (I had realized that there were no locks on their doors?) and the bear guy walked in. He sat down at the table next to Sejuani and I.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. I've got my strenght back."

"I went back to talk to the healer this morning." He said.

"And?"

"Turns out she managed to dig out some books passed down in her family. She only has a vague idea how to treat it, and after a few threats she was willing to try it out. Does it look any worse?"

Sejuani lifted her top up slightly to reveal her ribs. We all flinched at the sight of the cut. The whole left side of her ribs had gone grey, and the skin was hard and cracked, like the earth during a drought. The cut was still black, appearing like a crevasse.

"This better work." Bear guy whispered.

"Udyr... I'm gonna have to speak with you." She looked at me briefly. "I'll be back."

She grabbed a coat of furs and headed outside with Udyr. I remained seated at the table, deep in thought.

* * *

"What is it?"

I sighed. "You've seen it."

"Yeah?"

"Listen, I'm going to battle this for as long as I have breath, you understand this, right?"

"Of course."

"But yesterday... when I fell to the ground like that... I had no control over my body. I had no way to fight against it. I was trapped."

He nodded. He seemed to understand where this was going.

"If I don't make it out of this one, Udyr... Would you lead us to victory?"

"Don't be stupid, Sejuani. You'll be the one leading us."

"When my parents died I wasn't prepared for the task that was layed out before me. I didn't know what to do, it was as if I was mad at them for not telling me that I would have to fight for them when they are unable to." I sighed. "I am telling you now, Udry, that if I can no longer fight, I want you to be the one to do it, not for me, but for our warriors. For the Winter's Claw."

He nodded. "I would be honored. Thank you."

I smiled. "How is it that I can always count on you?"

"You may not want to admit it, but even you need to doubt yourself sometimes and I'm just glad to be there to remind you of who you are."

"So who am I?"

"The greatest warrior I've ever met, and you _will_ live through this."

I pulled him into a hug, unaware that I was able to show him such affection. He too seemed surprised but chuckled and hugged me back.

"Thank you." I whispered.

He shook his head to brush my thanks away. "Go back in. Get some rest. I'm gonna get the healer to come to you."

I nodded and headed on back inside.

Quinn was still sitting at the table and smiled when she saw me come in. If I were to die I knew that Udyr would carry my work on and would lead the Winter's Claw to victory like I had planned to do but... If I died, who could I appoint to come back and feel the soft touch of Quinn's skin for me? Who could I appoint to come back and give her one last kiss from me?

I shook those thoughts away, aware of the fact that I was being absurd. Not only would I live, but surely one person's absence couldn't affect me that much.

I sat down on the bed to clear my thoughts when Quinn came and sat beside me. She looked at me with those bright eyes of her and asked if I was alright.

I nodded and said the healer would be here soon. She must have noticed that I was avoiding her gaze, but I soon realized just how stubborn she was as she put an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek before laying her head on my shoulder. The warm puff of her breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine and I smiled. I pulled her closer and I no longer doubted my strength to live.

* * *

 _ **Note**_

 _ **Hello.**_

 _ **It's me.**_

 _ **I was wondering if after all these years you still remember this fic.**_

 _So I was dead for... how long? Anyways here I am slowly making more progress.  
_

 _(Also there were like 4 POVs in this chapter and I'm pretty sure that's my record so far someone fight me)_


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